Not a Fairy Tale
by queen-sheep
Summary: [Muggle!AU] Rose Weasley, aged five, met Scorpius Malfoy on the first day of kindergarten.


_Written for the Quidditch Fanfiction League Competition - Round 7. Written for the seeker position._

* * *

Rose Weasley, aged five, met Scorpius Malfoy on the first day of kindergarten. She had heard all about him, even having never met him before. The Malfoy's had done something bad, although what it was, she didn't know. No one would tell her either.

"Stay away from the Malfoy's Rosie," her dad would warn her, again and again. "They're nothing but trouble. Don't go near the Malfoy's."

"Yes, Daddy," she would reply obediently. "I won't go near the Malfoy's."

She was always a very curious girl though. It was in her nature. She had gotten it from her mother, and it was wont to get her into trouble with her parents. It wasn't like she could help it though. Her favourite word in the world was 'why' and she just _craved _knowledge. She wouldn't give up until she got what she wanted.

And even her deference to her dad wasn't enough to stop her from approaching the little boy playing by himself. Striding towards him with the confidence of a child, she put on her most pleasant face and plopped down next to him.

Rose stuck out a hand. She had seen her parents do it lots of times, and her mum said it was the polite thing to do when meeting a person for the first time.

"Hullo," she said. "My name is Rose. What's your name?"

The blonde haired boy stared at her hand warily, as if expecting it to attack him. Rose left it hanging, waiting for him to take it. His grey-blue eyes darted between her hand and her face, before finally extending his own arm to meet hers. Rose gave him a wide, toothy grin and shook his hand firmly before letting go.

"Let's be friends," she said.

He stared at her, wide eyed.

It was a fairy tale beginning, with two kids that would eventually grow to be friends.

* * *

Rose Weasley, aged fifteen, first realized she was in love with Scorpius Malfoy while watching his back during class. She had been drifting off, a first for her, and her eyes had shifted unconsciously to his straight back, to the straight line of his brand name clothes against his shoulders.

She didn't know how she came to the conclusion. There was nothing special about that moment. There weren't any girl flocking to him, although he was rather popular, and there was no romantic moment between the two of them. There was just the math teacher droning on about something or other, and the calm realization that she was in love with her best friend, and had probably been for a while now.

Rose was a very direct person. She was very honest. She wasn't the type of girl to stew over crushes with her friends, and she couldn't keep a secret for very long as well.

"Are you alright, Rose?" Scorpius asked one day. "You seem a bit off these days."

Rose blinked. "Erm," she said.

Pausing, she collected her thoughts. Rose knew she would have to confess eventually, or risk letting all her emotions bottle up inside her. She might as well do it now.

"Yes, actually," she said. Scorpius raised an eye, waiting patiently for her to continue. "I've recently found out that I'm in love with you."

Rose waited for the response. First, he gaped at her. Then, covering his eyes, he began to laugh. Rose's cheeks began to burn in humiliation, he posture taking on a defensive stance.

"What's so funny, Scorpius Malfoy?" She all but hissed.

He waved a hand to calm her down, tremors still running through his body.

"Sorry, sorry," he said. "It's just, it's so like you to confess like that."

"And?" Rose asked, huffing.

"And," Scorpius enunciated, "I've also found out that I love you as well, my adorable petal."

Rose's face, which had begun to cool down, instantly heated up again. "What did you just call me?!"

"A petal? Like, Rose, petal, you know?"

Rose narrowed her eyes. "Don't you ever call me that again."

Scorpius smirked at her.

* * *

Rose Weasley, aged twenty, married Scorpius Malfoy in a beautiful gazebo on a beautiful summer's day. The clouds were all but gone, the wind providing a pleasant breeze, and the sun was cheerfully beaming down at them. It was if the weather was giving their blessing. There couldn't be a better omen for a happy life together with him.

As she fluffed her bright Weasley hair anxiously and smoothed down her dress, she wondered if she looked alright. Then she wondered if the wedding organization was going alright. Anxiously, she stood and pacing around tidying the room just to have something to do. Rose carefully re-organized the flowers in the vase in the corner, then moved to the makeup scattered chaotically over the table. But after that, there wasn't anything to do. She had nothing more to do. Her stomach twisted nervously, and her hands fluttered around.

The sound of a door opening made her turn around. It was Lily, dressed in a pale pink bridesmaid dress. She had raised her eyebrow at the sight of her.

"Honestly," Lily sighed, "Calm down, Rose. Nothing will come of worrying. I thought you were always the logical one?"

"This is different, Lily!" Rose exclaimed. "This is my wedding day! So many things could go wrong! Also, how do I look?"

Lily grinned. "You look absolutely stunning. But anyway, I'm here to say that you can come out now. Uncle Ron's here to lead you up the aisle."

A tall head popped out from behind Lily, smiling despite the tears streaming down his face.

"Daddy!" Rose cried, throwing herself into his arms.

"Hello, Rosie," he said affectionately, and Rose nearly cried there on the spot, because it had been forever since he called her that, her old nickname.

"I told you he wasn't a bad person," Rose said, unable to resist one last jab at her dad.

Her dad shook his head. "I guess I was wrong, if you're marrying him now. You got that from your mother I guess. She loves proving me wrong."

They both laughing at his words and she felt her heart settling down at their lighthearted conversation. Rose took a deep breath as her dad held his arm out to her.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"I'm ready, daddy," she said back.

And he lead her through the grass, through the white rows upon rows of chairs that were full of guests and finally they reached the platform and Scorpius was crying and she was laughing and her daddy let go of her for her to join her to be husband in front of the priest.

"Hello, my beautiful petal," he said, grinning so widely she was afraid his face would break.

Rose had always thought she couldn't love Scorpius anymore than she already had but she was proved wrong and she couldn't be happier.

* * *

Rose Weasley, aged twenty-five, discovered she was being cheated on after finding the bra and panties pair in her laundry that most definitely wasn't hers. It had been Scorpius' turn to do laundry, but she had come home early from work, and decided to do it for him.

It was clique for sure, but that didn't stop it from being complete shock. Scorpius was… cheating on her. Cheating. He was cheating on her.

Rose clenched the articles of clothing in her fist tightly, taking a deep breath. She strictly told her mind to think logically, like she was good at, like her mother taught her. Had Scorpius been acting oddly recently? No, he hadn't. Had their relationship deteriorated in any way? Not at all. Did they have enough sex? Most definitely.

So what was the problem? They had been married happily for five years now, and had been childhood friends before that. There simply _wasn't _a problem.

'_I'll ask him about it when he comes home,_' Rose decided. _'There was no point jumping to conclusions.' _But a feeling of dread and confusion remained in the pit of her stomach, refusing to leave, planting seeds of doubt in her head.

But the bra and panties seemed familiar. Rose's mind whirled into action, wondering just where she had seen it. It seemed really familiar. She just couldn't put her tongue on it.

Frowning, Rose headed back into the living room, knowing that Scorpius would be getting back soon. A small _click _was head, and Rose stepped forward to greet her husband. He smiled upon her, planting a chaste kiss on her lips.

Rose stepped back, simply regarding him in the doorway. Scorpius frowned, his brow wrinkled at her silence. Suddenly, everything snapped into place.

"Are you oka—"

"Are you cheating on me with Roxanne?"

Silence. So tense and thick it was suffocating. Scorpius simply stared at her.

"What?" he asked. "Why would you think that?"

Holding up the bra and panties, she said, "I found this. In the laundry. Size 5. The exact same brand and size that Roxanne wears. I should know, she's always ranting about these, and doesn't buy anything else."

Rose raised her eyebrow waiting.

Finally, a deep sigh came from Scorpius. "Yes. Yes, I was cheating on you with Roxanne, okay?"

"And why is that?" Rose asked coolly. "I've been wondering, but I can't comprehend it. Was our marriage not happy?"

"That's the problem!" Scorpius suddenly exploded. "You! You're too— too calculating! Too logical! All you have is what you think should and shouldn't happen. But Roxanne, she full of emotions, passion. She does things in the heat of the moment!"

Rose tightened her lips. "Is that so? Well since you're so displeased with me, I guess I'll just go now."

Without another word, she walked out of the house. After calling a taxi, everything was a blur. She didn't remember paying the driver, or even telling him directions, but she found herself at her parents' house, ringing the doorbell.

"Coming!" A voice called from inside.

The door opened, and all she could see was the familiar sight of her dad, his expression as open and warm as she remember it. And in an instant, he emotionless façade broke and she was sobbing into his arms. His arms wrapped tightly around her, asking her what was wrong.

"You were right," she sobbed. "You were right all along."

That day, Rose Weasley learnt there were no such things as fairy tales.


End file.
